


Leaving Me In The Dust

by camichats



Series: Imagine James and Sirius Prompts [88]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Getting Together, M/M, Moving Out, Oblivious James Potter, Pining Sirius Black, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 05:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18492613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Sirius decided to move out, and James does not like that. Not one bit.





	Leaving Me In The Dust

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: “Sirius has decided to move out of James’s parents home which makes james realise his feelings for sirius. They get together in the end.”

"You know, I was thinking that we could-" James stopped mid-sentence as he walked into Sirius's room and saw him packing. "What are you doing?" 

"Er packing? Thought it was pretty obvious mate."

"What's not obvious is why. Where the bloody hell do you think you're going?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips. 

Sirius shrugged, piling various keepsakes from their time at Hogwarts into a bag. "Uncle Alphard's got a flat he doesn't use, he said I'm free to stay there since it's already paid for. Figure it'll keep me well enough while I get a job, then maybe I'll find a place of my own. I dunno, I haven't decided yet. It all depends on what sort of job I get, y'know? If it's a muggle gig near there, then there wouldn't be a reason to move. Or, hell, if it's a wizarding job I could just apparate there on the regular instead of having to haul all my shite into boxes again." 

James didn't hear much past the first sentence because _what_. "You're moving out?" 

"Yeah, like we talked about." 

"No. No no no, we talked about moving out when we were like, marrying someone, not just for the hell of it. This was something that was supposed to be years in the future, and unless you started shagging someone on the regular and didn't tell me, there's no reason for you to be leaving now. What am I supposed to do without you?" 

"Merlin James, I'm not dying. We'll still see each other loads." He zipped up the bag and ran a hand through his hair when he looked up at James. 

His heart beat louder in his chest, but he ignored it as easily as he'd been doing the past several years. "We'd see each other more if you buggering _stayed_." 

Sirius rolled his eyes fondly. "You're overreacting. I'll be connected to the floo, and Mum made me promise to come over every Friday night for Shabbat slash dinner slash family bonding time." He shook his head with a grin. "I'd say she's just as upset about me leaving as you are." 

"She's really not," James grumbled. 

"Aw come on Prongs," Sirius said as he sat on the bed, leaning back into his hands which were propped behind him. "I can't live with you and your parents forever. You had to have seen this coming even if you weren't paying attention during our talk the other day." 

"Is that really what you think Sirius? That you're crashing with 'me and my parents'," he parroted, using his fingers to make air quotes around the phrase, "and that's all you are here?" 

Sirius blinked. "Well yeah. What else could I be?" 

"You're _family_." 

Something sad hit his eyes, and he smiled ruefully. "Yeah, well maybe I want something more." 

"Wh-" 

He shook his head again. "Forget it Jamie, you're not changing my mind. I could use my own space after seventeen years without." 

"You have your own space," he said defensively. "You've got a room all to yourself, and Mum and Dad always knock before they come in. That's more than you had at Hogwarts." Privacy had been a scarce commodity at school. If someone wanted to hook up for a shag, they'd had to bribe all their dormmates to scram for the night. James had never been on the side doing the bribing, but he had been bribed on more than one occasion and frankly he didn't see what the big fuss was-- Peter had complained about it like there was no tomorrow, and Remus had been very grumbly about it every single time it happened-- but it had always meant that he and Sirius got to spend loads of time together, giggling and cuddling, so it was always a bit of a special occasion. "How much privacy do you really need?"

"I want my own _space_  James, not just a bedroom." 

"So- what, you're going to learn to cook and do laundry in the next few days? I know you don't know how to do any of that." 

"Mum said she'll teach me." 

James had spluttered exactly once in his entire friendship with Sirius, and that was when James realised what a nice arse he had while they were swimming and messing around trying to dunk each other under the water. Now was number two as he realised that Sirius was slipping away from him and there was nothing he could do. 

"Relax James, we'll still see each other." 

"Yeah but not all the time." 

"Maybe that's a good thing," Sirius said with a shrug. 

That made James pull up short. "What?" 

"Come on, we never do anything alone. We're adults now, don't you think it's time we started, I dunno, dating?" 

"No," he said honestly, "I don't. What's wrong with things the way they are now?" 

Sirius sighed, getting up from his bed. "We're going in circles mate." He clapped James on the shoulder as he passed into the hallway. "Sleep on it; you'll feel better in the morning." 

"No I won't," he grumbled. 

Sirius, who was a good distance away by that point, either didn't hear him or had nothing to say about it because he stayed silent and kept walking. 

_This_ , James thought as he watched him leave, _is a complete and utter disaster. I will die a lonely, miserable man, and it's because of this_. 

And it only got worse after that. 

Later, Sirius was packing up some winter clothes since he wouldn't need them any time soon, and it would reduce his packing time when he was actually ready to move. James was watching it happen with a glare on his face, trying yet again to convince Sirius not to go. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. 

It was childish, and James knew it was while he was doing it, but he turned the box Sirius was packing upside down, undoing all of his progress. 

"What is your problem?" Sirius asked, more exasperated than angry. 

"I don't want you to go! You don't need to leave, and I don't know what you think you're proving by doing this, but I wish you'd fucking let it go." With that, James turned around and stormed out, not catching the sad look in Sirius's eyes as he righted the box and set about repacking it. 

* * *

Apparently Sirius was tired of trying to make James see his point of view, because he disappeared without a word one day, only coming back hours later once he was unpacked to tell James what was going on. 

The thing was, he didn't so much 'tell' as he did 'show'. He grabbed James and pulled him through the floo. "What do you think?" he asked, spreading his arms with nervous anticipation. 

"You moved?" 

Sirius's hands slowly dragged back to his sides. "Yeah. I told you this was happening James." 

"This wasn't supposed to happen," he said, more to himself than to Sirius. "You were supposed to realise you were being a dumbarse, and you were supposed to say with me! This isn't home, Sirius." 

"It's _my_ home," he pointed out. "Come on James, I'm really happy about this. Can't you just be supportive?" 

"Being supportive would mean encouraging you to leave me, so no, I can't 'just be supportive' and I don't know why you ever expected me to." James whirled around, reaching his hand into the pot of floo powder. 

Then he was jerked away from it when Sirius yanked on the back of his shirt. "Stop acting like a child James," he said in a low tone. "I'm finally moving on, I'm growing up. Why the fuck can't you just be happy for me? Don't I deserve this?" 

"You deserve everything great in the world," James said automatically. "And that includes staying with your _family_  where you belong!" 

Sirius stared at him for a long moment before his mouth twisted ruefully. "Yeah well maybe I don't want you to be my brother." Because Sirius was a dramatic bastard, he stomped out of the flat even though it was his place, leaving James frozen in front of the fireplace. 

Why would he say that? They- they were James and Sirius, they were closer than anyone else at Hogwarts had ever been. Why did growing up mean leaving James behind? 

For all that James had been trying to leave the monstrosity disguised as a living space before, when Sirius left, he sat down on the couch, thinking and waiting for his return. What had Sirius meant by 'moving on'? What could he possibly be moving on from? From _James_? That was laughable, but... the more James thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Why else would he move out and keep going on about having his own space? 

It was James's leading theory when Sirius returned to his new flat. He kicked the door close, running a hand through his hair. He froze abruptly when he saw James sitting on his couch. "You're still here." 

"Did you leave because of me?" he blurted out, never one to beat around the bush. He saw the truth in Sirius's face before he had a chance to say anything aloud, and James's heart felt like it was being ground against a cheese grater. "What did I do?" 

"You didn't do anything," he said, and James expected to detect a lie, but it was the truth. 

"Then why did you move out? If you left because of me, but not something I did... I don't understand." 

Sirius ran a hand down his face. "I can't do this right now. I just can't. Can we talk about it later?" He sounded so defeated that James found himself nodding and standing from the position he'd held on the couch. 

He passed him on the way to the door, not really thinking about using the floo because he could use a walk to clear his head. He was only a foot away, their backs to each other, when he stopped. It hit him all at once that if he walked out the door, everything would change. He'd have to get a legitimate invitation to visit Sirius instead of dropping by any time he felt like it. Maybe it was the more adult way to have a friendship, but he didn't care for that shit in the slightest. He wanted them to be _closer_  not farther apart. With that realisation, he turned on his heel and was in front of Sirius in an instant, putting a hand on the side of his face and kissing him desperately. He broke off after a few seconds, breathing harder than he had been before. "I probably shouldn't have done that," he said quietly. "You just told me that you want space from me, and I- bugger." He dropped his hand and stepped back, hanging his head in shame. He never thought about anything did he? He had some life changing moment of clarity where he knew that he not only loved Sirius but was _in_  love with him, and he'd acted without thinking. He'd forgotten, in those few seconds, that Sirius hadn't had the same realisation as him. 

"You better have meant that." Sirius's voice was low, and deadly serious. He stepped into James's space, fisting a hand in the front of his shirt to stop him from running away. "Don't jerk me around James. If you kiss me, you need to mean it." 

"I meant it. I just-" he swallowed, tilting his head up to look at something other than the top of Sirius's boots "-thought you'd be upset with me for it." 

"Upset?" Sirius repeated incredulously. "I have been waiting for you to kiss me for four bloody years, and you think I'd be upset??" 

James blinked. "Four years? Why didn't you say anything earlier?" 

"Why didn't _you_?" 

"Because I'm a dumbarse who only ten seconds ago realised that I'm in love with you, what's your excuse?" 

"That you're a dumbarse who ten seconds ago realised you were in love with me. What the sodding hell Jamie? Do you really think I'd put myself out there when it was obvious you hadn't even thought about it?" 

James frowned at him. "You could've knocked some sense into me." 

"Yeah that's real romantic," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. 

"Does this mean you're moving back in?" he asked hopefully. 

"I already unpacked. Plus I like this place." 

"But-" 

" _How_ _ever_ , you could move in with me if you like." 

"Neither of us knows what we're doing." 

Sirius shrugged. "We'll figure it out." 

"It'll be a disaster." 

"Well I could've told you that," he said, one corner of his mouth curving up in amusement. "But you need to plan ahead." 

"I'm not sure I'm capable of that." 

"I know we just got together, but I think it would be a touch awkward trying to shag in your parent's house." 

"Our parents," he corrected. 

"What did I say about us being brothers?" 

"Who said anything about brothers? You'll be my husband one day; how's that for planning ahead?" 

"You're ridiculous." 

"You love me," James said. 

"Merlin help me, I do."

**Author's Note:**

> This is from a prompt driven blog @[imaginejamesandsirius](https://imaginejamesandsirius.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Feel free to drop by!


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